I found out about MetroParks internships through one of the many career fairs offered by the School of Environment and Natural Resources. I talked to their Human Resources representative and they contacted me later to insert me into the process. I ended up accepting a position at Blendon Woods, working in their nature center. At first I was not sure how involved I wanted to be in MetroParks because I am more interested in research and sustainability. However after going through training and starting to work, I realized there is a lot I did not know about what Columbus Parks do. There are several naturalists at the park who do a lot of research with population ecology and conservation. I have been fortunate enough to be included in their work as well. It is really amazing to see what they do and get to do some field research myself. Outside of research, I get to do a lot of conservation awareness and education programs. The main part of my internship is to oversee the nature center, therefore I do most of my conservation work in the building. There is an indoor viewing area where visitors can watch different species of animals roaming around in the woods. We put out different seed which attracts animals such as birds, squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, wild turkey, and even the occasional fox or coyote. Some of the visitors have never seen these animals in the wild before, and it is really rewarding to answer their questions and introduce them to a different world right outside their backdoor. The largest part of what I do for my internship is providing information. I spend chunks of time researching different species in order to correctly answer questions. This could be researching data, but also just observing behaviors in the park. I am outside for a different reason each day, and I see a lot more of the natural life than the average visitor because of it. I am really looking forward to a rewarding summer introducing the public to a world they didn’t know was so close, and to learn a great deal about it myself.

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